The Warrior's Code
by iWalkWounded
Summary: Naruto goes on a journey to learn how to harness the Kyubbi's chakra and to become strong enough to bring back Sasuke and defeat the Akatsuki. Along the way he travels with a new sensei and an old friend. NaruHina
1. Be Careful What You Wish For

1A/N: here is a guide as to the different types of print:

"Hello" normal speech

_Hello_ normal thought

"**Hello" **demon/summon speech

_**Hello **_demon/summon thought

Chapter 1: Be Careful What You Wish For

It's a bright, sunny day. The sky is an azure blue, with only a few clouds much to the displeasure of a certain lazy chunnin. Some would say that this is due to the fact that kami willed it for the special occasion about to take place that day. Today is the day that Naruto Uzumaki comes home from his three-year training. A lot had happened the last four years, though some of it our hero is still unaware of. A couple of important things happened: the inauguration of the new Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara, Akatsuki's becoming an even bigger threat (having captured not only Gaara's demon, the one-tailed tanuki, but also the two-tailed cat, three-tailed turtle, and the 4 tailed-beast), and finally Sasuke's defection from the Sound.

As Naruto continued to walk towards Konoha, he turned to Jiraiya and called "Hurry it up Ero-Sennin! I can see the gates of Konoha! Come on!"

This didn't move Jiraiya all that much, the old Sannin just kept up the same exact pace as before Naruto's out burst. Getting frustrated with having to wait even longer to get back to his friends and village, Naruto was suddenly enlightened as to a way to get the old sage to move faster. By performing the Shunshin, Naruto moved next to the slow moving hermit and quickly grabbed his latest notes for _Icha Icha. _Naruto then ran slightly ahead of Jiraiya, took out an explosive tag, and attached it to the notebook. This easily attracted Jiraiya's attention. "Now, Ero-Sennin, we wouldn't want anything bad to happen to your precious notes, ne? So lets hurry back to Konoha before they explode!"

With that, Naruto broke out into a run, to be (surprisingly) closely followed by the old sage. When they were within seeing distance of the gate guards, Naruto suddenly stopped short, causing Jiraiya to run into him. Consequently they both toppled over and fell in a pile. While getting untangled from one another, Jiraiya managed to get back his notes and sighed contentedly knowing they were safe. They both got up and started to walk towards the gate. Two unimportant chunnin were on guard duty at the time, and so they were stopped and made to wait for the okay to come in. This suited Naruto and Jiraiya just fine, as they weren't hoping to make a big entrance anyway. After waiting for about five minutes, the two travelers were finally allowed entrance.

Naruto began to walk towards the Hokage Tower, and Jiraiya wordlessly feel into step behind him due to Jiraiya still being concerned over his precious research. When they finally got to the tower, miraculously without running into anyone of Naruto's friends, instead of going in through the front door, they decided to walk up the building and in Tsunade's office window. "Obaa-chan! I'm back!"

Needless to say, she wasn't very pleased about being scared out of her drunken stupor. In fact, she was so displeased that she punched Jiraiya through one of the doors he was supposed to have used. After Naruto dug him out, he began his description of his journeys with the perverted sage. "…Staying with Gaara was awesome! We had so many good fights! And so we finally left Hidden Sand to come back here" voiced Naruto in his typical excited manner.

Tsunade merely nodded her head and said "Naruto, you're dismissed for now. Jiraiya, you stay behind."

"See ya' later Obaa-chan!"

Once Naruto was gone, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya and asked "So, how far has he come?"

"Well, we made some good progress. He can now access four tails worth of the Kyubbi's chakra without losing control. He's mastered most of the Gama clan's jutsu, and a good assortment of other jutsu of varying levels. He could probably take Kakashi in a fair fight now, and his own chakra level is nearing my own" stated Jiraiya.

Tsunade simply nodded, it was the kind of jump she was hoping Naruto would make over his three-year training course. Jiraiya continued, "Besides his body, I made sure to work his mind quite a lot. After all, we can't leave the village in the hands of a complete idiot someday. He now has at least a basic understanding of war, assassination, battle, stealth, and reconnaissance tactics. In addition, I had to teach him a lot of etiquette after he insulted a couple of politicians and a foreign daiyamo. All in all, he's still the kid that left three years ago, same goals and such, but he's grown in maturity and skill, and of course, lets not forget, his height that I've had to hear about all the way back here."

Tsunade and Jiraiya continued their talk for the remainder of the work hours, ending in Tsunade deciding to have Kakashi test Naruto's newfound abilities.

Meanwhile, Naruto walked about the village trying to locate his friends. The first person he ran into was, of course, Sakura, seeing as he had just walked out of Hokage Tower and she happened to be going to work there soon. Actually, Naruto was the one being run into, seeing as Sakura tackled him with a yell of "Naruto!" and pulled him into a strong embrace, shortly causing him to go blue.

After finally being released from Sakura's hug of death, Naruto inhaled deeply and said "Guess ya' missed me, eh Sakura?" with his trade mark grin. "Come on, let's go to Ichiraku's and we'll catch up there!"

Sakura followed as Naruto led the way to Ichiraku's. Upon entering, Naruto yelled "Hey old man! Gimme 15 bowls of Pork Ramen!"

The old man smiled and said "Right away my favorite customer! And what will the young lady be having?"

Sakura simply shook her head and said "Oh, no thank you. I've already eaten and I don't have much time anyway. I have to go work for Hokage-sama." Sakura turned to Naruto and asked "So, how was your adventure Naruto?"

And so, Naruto began his tale. Little did these two know, there was another of their friends outside, trying to build up the courage to go and talk to Naruto. She finally got her chance, as Sakura came out of the stand, having finished listen to Naruto's story, and found her there, waiting. "Hinata, get in there and say 'Hello' to Naruto" Sakura whispered to the waiting girl. Sakura, seeing Hinata become frozen in place at the prospect of talking to her crush, gave Hinata a "little" shove in towards where Naruto was sitting. Sakura's "little" shove actually got Hinata all the way over to Naruto and seated next to him. When Sakura noticed this while starting to leave for the tower, she chuckled to herself and thought_ "Cha! True love always wins!"_

Hinata settled herself in on the stool next to Naruto as he looked on with a confused expression wondering to himself how she had come to end up in the seat next to him. After getting over the initial confusion and seeing that Hinata wasn't going to start the conversation, Naruto said "So, Hinata, what have you been up to these past three years?"

"W…well… I trained a lot. Neji-nisan hel…helped to get me up to his level…as wel…as well as father's." Hinata managed to get out. "How…how about you, Nar…Naruto?"

And so, Hinata listened to the entire tale as Naruto told it for the third time that day. While he was telling the story, Naruto noticed that Hinata had…matured greatly over the past three years. Though it was hard to tell, she had quiet the nice figure underneath that enormous sweatshirt of hers. Not only that, she had grown a little bit taller and had grown out her hair to the extent that it was at her shoulder blades now. All in all, Naruto was pretty impressed. At the same time, Hinata was thinking along the same lines, only for Naruto. He had grown a lot! He now reached 6'4" and seemed to be incredibly toned. His azure eyes shined even brighter than she remebered. And his hair, his wonderful hair! It had been grown out as well, to the point that naruto currently had it in a ponytail to keep it from blocking his sight. Hinata felt even more of an attraction to him now than ever before, which was nigh impossible to achieve. When he finally finished, Hinata stared in awe at the things he had done and said, "Wow, I wish I could go on an adventure like that."

Naruto said "I'll take you on one someday Hinata! They're super fun and you learn all these cool new jutsus!" The thought of spending alone time with Naruto made Hinata turn a deep shade of red and she started to poke her fingers together like she hadn't done in three years. "Do you have a fever Hinata?" said Naruto has he put the back of his hand to her forehead. This finally pushed Hinata over the edge, and she fainted.

Naruto sighed, picked her up bridal style and began to walk towards the hospital. _I wonder why she always does that around me? Maybe she's allergic to something I wear? Or maybe she's allergic to blondes? Yeah that's probably it! After all, she was placed on a team with all dark haired people and there's no one in her family with blonde hair!_

After bringing Hinata to the hospital, Naruto started to walk towards the center of town only to be stopped by a masked A.N.B.U. "Uzumaki, you are to report to the Hokage, right now."

Naruto sighed and performed the Shunshin to get himself outside of Hokage Tower, as Hokage Tower itself was unenterable through those means. He walked up the tower, on the inside this time and made his way into Tsunade's office. When he had entered and the doors were shut, Tsunade began to speak "Naruto, in light of my discussion with Jiraiya, I have decided to send you on another training mission, this time in hopes of gaining full mastery over the majority of the Kyubbi's chakra." "What! I just got back and you're going to send me away again! Come on Obaa-chan! You can't do this to me! Besides, I've had enough of training with Ero-Sennin! He doesn't even teach, he just makes me figure it out on my own!"

"I'm not sending you with Jiraiya again. Instead, I have an old…friend of mine who I have called upon to train you. He should be here by tomorrow at noon. Until then, you may do as you please, but you had better show up at the training grounds tomorrow at 12. Also, depending on how well you do in your bout against him tomorrow, you might be raised to chunnin status." "Alright! Okay, I'll do it!…Wait, can Hinata come too?" This made Tsunade raise an eyebrow. "Why?" "Well, I promised to take her on an adventure someday, and I figured this would be the perfect chance." "Hmm, I'm okay with it, but you'll have to ask your new sensei tomorrow. First though, you'll be dealing with your old sensei. In order to test your proficiency with all the new things that you've learned, you and Sakura will being paying Kakashi a visit at your old training ground." "Alright! I get to fight Kakashi-sensei! … When?"

"Right now. Get over there!" Tsunade ended the conversation by socking Naruto in the face, through the wall and (conveniently) towards the direction of the training grounds. After picking himself up and out of the rubble, Naruto began to run towards Training Ground # Seven. When he arrived, he saw both Kakashi and Sakura already there and waiting. Kakashi had out the latest edition of the _Icha Icha_series. "Glad you could join us Naruto. Now that we're all here, let's see if you two can get the bells this time? Same rules as before, except you both really do have to get a bell this time."

"Alright Sakura! We're gonna take him down!" yelled Naruto.

After announcing this, Naruto jumped away into the surrounding foliage while Sakura soon followed. _Hmmm. They've improved. Not only did they think enough to try to make a plan first, they even seem to have agreed on the spot they'll be hiding in. I think I'll just let them talk it out while I settle in to Jiraiya-sama's new book. _

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sakura were debating as to how to gain the bells from their old sensei. Sakura wanted to go all out in a Taijutsu duel, having both herself and Naruto attack at once from different angles, while continuing to move around Kakashi until they wore him down. Naruto wanted to go with the less direct route (surprisingly). His plan included him distracting Kakashi with everything he had while Sakura snuck up and stole the two bells while Kakashi was distracted. "Come on Sakura! He'll never know what hit him, just leave it to me! Please?"

"Fine Naruto, let's just get this over with. I'll sneak over and steal the bells while you distract him. Just make sure you do a good job." Sakura playfully admonished.

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto said as he launched himself in Kakashi's direction. While running towards his old sensei, Naruto yelled out "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" and 10 kage bunshins appeared next to him as he ran forward. The original Naruto threw a punch towards Kakashi while the ten kage bunshin gathered in a circle around them. Of course Kakashi ducked and then countered with a sweep kick turned roundhouse on the second way around. Naruto bent over backwards and proceeded to bring up his right foot to try to kick Kakashi underneath his chin. Thanks to his large amount of battle experience , Kakashi knew to take a step backward thus allowing the foot to go flying past. However, Naruto had picked up a couple new tricks over his training mission. As his foot went by Kakashi's face, a blade of air grazed his face. This managed to put a small tear in Kakashi's mask, revealing a small portion of the rather large smile on Kakashi's face. "It seems as if you've improved quite a lot Naruto, to be able to manipulate wind chakra like that. Maybe we'll both get to have some fun out of this, ne?" Kakashi said as he pulled his forehead protector up from his eye. Naruto simply grinned and yelled "Doton no Jutsu!" as he disappeared into the ground. That was the cue to the kage bunshin to begin their attack. They each pulled out six shuriken (three for each hand) and threw them all at different angles towards Kakashi. Seeing this, Kakashi jumped into the air to try to avoid the attack. However, the kage bunshin yelled out "Taju Kage Shuriken no Jutsu!" and the 60 shuriken suddenly became 6000 shuriken. Unsurprised due to his use of the Sharingan, Kakashi performed the needed hand seal for the Kawarimi just before the majority of the shuriken sunk into the log he replaced himself with. Upon landing on the ground, Kakashi suddenly had to jump again as Naruto's hand's came out of the ground using Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu. Noticing that his attack missed, Naruto came out of the ground, dismissed all of his kage bunshin. He sat down for a moment trying to think of another way to possibly distract Kakashi, as Sakura had yet to make her move. _What else can I pull? I mean, I guess I could use sexy no jutsu, but I don't really wanna get in trouble for winning…_Just then, Naruto's stomach growled. He looked down and patted his stomach with one hand as he reached into his kunai pouch looking for the occasional snack he kept there. To his dismay, the only thing he found was the unreleased, new _Icha Icha_ book that Jiraiya had given him as a "graduation present". This however gave him an idea. _Hmmm. I wonder if I start to ruin the 'story', pft if it can even be called one, will he be so focused on that that he won't notice Sakura sneaking up behind him?… Well, I guess it's worth a shot._ "Hey Kakashi-sensei! Look what I got!" Naruto said as he pulled out _Icha Icha Heaven_ in the golden edition and signed by none other than Jiraiya himself.

Kakashi's eye's widened at this as he stood their stupefied. Naruto started with " Here, let me read you the best part…. So, he took her and gently placed her on the nearby desk. He slowly lifted up her skirt after receiving a nod from the beautiful angel he was holding. Next, his hands went to her undergarments…."

Naruto continued to read the passage all the while holding Kakashi's attention. During this time, Sakura managed to get behind Kakashi and switch the bells out for a pair of earrings she had had on. When Naruto noticed Sakura had completed her part he snapped the book shut and began to wave in front of the zoning Kakashi. He finally snapped out of it when he heard Naruto say "Looks like we pass Kakashi-sensei" as Sakura jingled the bells from behind him.

"I can't believe you fell for that sensei. I'm disappointed in you" pouted Sakura.

Kakashi sweat dropped after hearing that and managed to get out a "Good job. You're dismissed" before shunshining away to report to Tsunade. "Well I'll see you around Sakura. I'm super hungry so I'm just gonna go get something to eat. Bye!"

Sakura was left behind in the dust as Naruto ran off towards Ichiraku's for the second time that day. She merely giggled to herself and shook her head.

Meanwhile, in Tsunade's office, Kakashi reported the results of his test with Naruto and Sakura. "So you're telling me that they beat you because you let them distract you with your dirty novels?"

"…Yes, Tsunade-sama. I couldn't help myself."

"Well besides learning to use an opponents weakness against them, did he appear to have advanced in any other area?" asked Tsunade. Tsunade was wondering how much of his skill Naruto had let on already andif maybe he was holding something back.

"He has at least enough of a grasp on element manipulation to have kicked an airt blade at me, hence the tear in my mask. Also, it seems that he has expanded, at least slightly, his jutsu arsenal as well as his use of his Kage Bunshin."

"Very well, it looks like we'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out anymore of the new Naruto. Come by tomorrow if you want, Kakashi, its sure to be…interesting" finished Tsunade.

-------------------------Jutsu----------------------------

Shunshin – Allows the user to move from one area to another via "teleportation" (they poof in clouds of smoke or leaves). The leaves may serve as an indicator that they are from Konoha.

Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - multiple shadow clones

Taju Kage Shuriken no Jutsu - creates multiple shuriken from the original(s)

Doton no jutsu - Allows the user to manipulate the earth (such as sinking beneath the ground to attack from below)

Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu – done when the user is below the target, it forces them down into the ground up to their head. Also known as the Inner Decapitation Technique

------------Author's Side Notes--------------------------

A/N: Hey there potential viewers, just to let ya' know, this is my first fic though I have read quite a few. So, any and all kinds of reviews are welcome, especially constructive criticism or suggestions to add to the story line. Thanks and enjoy! – Mouldy

P.S. If you don't like the definitions just before this, tell what you think they should say and I'll fix them.


	2. Let's Go Wild!

1"Hello" normal speech

_Hello_ normal thought

"**Hello" **demon/summon speech

_**Hello **_demon/summon thought

Author's Notes: Thank you all of you who reviewed.

**Pyronix:** Thanks for the help with the Shunshin description, its been corrected.

**Baka Nii-san:** Yes, there will be some kenjutsu involved in later chapters. However, this story is actually named after the song "Warrior's Code" by Dropkick Murphys (due to the lyrics and such).

**Freshman007: **Thank you for the pointers you gave me. I realize this chapter doesn't seem to acknowledge it, but I'm workin' on it ya' know? It goes against my nature. Lol.

**Loki09 aka ttre208: **Thank you. Does your penname have anything to do with the Norse God? Sorry for the randomness there.

----------------------Chapter 2: Let's Go Wild!---------------------------

The sun seemed to rise early that morning as a stranger walked into the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The chunnin didn't even think to stop the man at the gate, as he seemed to have a chakra level that was pathetic for even a civilian. He was dressed in white, puffy pants that were seemingly tucked into his traveler's boots and a golden, short sash at the top of his pants. His shirt, if it could be called one, was open in the middle and had two small strips of teal material that went up and over his shoulders and down the other side. Anyway, around his neck he wore a chain with a red orb at the end. His hair was long, and black as the night, while his eyes seemed to glow with an unnatural fiery orange. On top of his head, he wore a straw hat made for the typical traveler. Besides all this, he had a rather large, special scroll attached to his back via chains that were made into straps. This made his physique rather noticeable…or it would have had it not been cloaked in Genjutsu that made him look the part of a pathetic civilian child. He shook his head as he walked through the gates without being asked for identification or anything at all. _I'll have to tell Tsunade that her guards are slacking._ The "little boy" continued to walk through the village in the direction of Hokage Tower. While on his walk, he bumped into a girl with strange eyes. "Owww. I'm sorry miss. I didn't mean to knock into you." Said the "little boy".

"Oh, that's all right. Here, let me help you up." said Hinata as she picked up and dusted off the little boy who had just knocked into her. "There, all better. Go home safely, okay?"

"Okay, thank you… What's your name?"

"My name's Hinata Hyuuga, and your's?" said Hinata

"My name? My name is Jato. It was nice to meet you Hinata-chan! Bye!" he said as he ran off. Hinata merely smiled and continued on her way back towards her home from her early morning training. Meanwhile, Jato had finally reached Hokage Tower and proceeded to go inside and make his way up to Tsunade's office. The A.N.B.U. on guard however refused to let him in and so he was made to wait. "Come on guys, are you sure you can't let an adorable little boy like me inside?" asked Jato with big puppy eyes. This gained no response from either guard, causing Jato to sink down into the chair he was waiting in. Finally, about an hour later, Tsunade came out of her office. She turned to the two guards and asked, "Why is this little boy waiting here?"

The two A.N.B.U. on guard stated, "He said he had a meeting with you Madame Hokage. We did not believe him."

"What's your name?", asked Tsunade.

"My name's Jato. Don't you remember me, Tsunade?" Jato said with a fake sad face.

"Jato! Take off that henge! Jeeze, I was expecting you an hour ago! What happened?" questioned Tsunade.

Jato released his henge, thus revealing the mature 18-year-old that he truly was. "Well, your stupid guards here wouldn't let me in. I kept trying to explain to them that I did really have a meeting, but they were to stupid to tell that I wasn't really lying." Jato said was he winked at the two guards.

Tsunade laughed and waved to Jato saying, "Well, come on in, let's get this meeting started."

Jato followed her into the room and sat down in the chair opposite Tsunade. "So, why'd you call me here? I know it wasn't just to ask me how I was, or you would have just wrote it in a letter."

"Well, you see, I have someone I want you to train. His name is Uzumaki Naruto. Would you consider doing this for me? I mean, the kid's wanted by the Akatsuki and their getting even more aggressive as of late. So I figured he'd be safer with you, no?" Tsunade blurted out.

"Wow, you must really like the kid. I don't think I've seen you this flustered since the time I told you that I wanted to leave and travel the world. Well, let me take a look at the kid first, and then I'll decide. Also, in return, I'd like to train a Hyuuga. In fact, I'd like to train…_What was her name again?_ Oh yeah, I'd like to train Hyuuga Hinata." Stated Jato.

"Why Hinata?"

"Well you see, an old friend of mine asked me to help fix the problems within their clan and to help at least one of their heirs to accomplish the full level of the Kekkei Genkai. Not only that, she was rather kind to me today, so I think she'll fit the qualifications."

Tsunade thought to herself for a moment before saying, "That's fine with me, but I'd like you to try to get the approval of her father. If you can't I guess I can force the issue by making it a mission, but I'd rather not. On the testing Naruto part, I told him to be at the training grounds today at 12, so you've got 2 hours to get there."

"All right Tsunade, I'll be there. Make sure you invite the girl's father that way I can make sure he understands that I'm no pushover, okay?" Jato said.

Tsunade nodded as Jato turned to walk out of the office. Right at that moment, a young woman walked into the room causing Jato to stop dead in his tracks. "You smell…" "Hey!" "…like a snake. Why?" Jato asked.

The woman mumbled something incoherently under her breath. Jato asked slowly, "What's your name?"

The girl replied, "My name is Mitarashi Anko and the reason why I smell like snake is because that's the kind of jutsu I use…. I used to be an apprentice of Orochimaru."

"Ah, you are one of the bearers of the Curse Mark, aren't you? What do you have? Curse Mark: Heaven maybe?"

Anko answered, "Yeah, how'd you know?"

Jato smirked and said, "Just a lucky guess. I hope you're not fond of it, because I'm going to have to remove it from you."

Anko merely stood there, shocked. She couldn't believe that such a thing could even be done. She had heard of sealing away the mark's power, but removing it altogether? _There must be a catch or something…Oh well, all that matters is that I get this stupid thing off me!_ "Fine, do it. In fact do it now." Anko resolved.

Jato thought to himself for a moment before saying, "No, not right now. First we need to get you situated in a hospital. Then I'll explain the procedure to you, as well as the side effects…." Jato turned to Tsunade and said "Would you come and supervise, as well as help Anko here?"

"Of course. Let's go." Tsunade said.

So, on the way over to the Konoha Hospital, Jato started to explain the "procedure to the two women. "Okay, here's how it works. I run through about 15 sets of hand seals that are generic to the curse mark in and of itself, then I make another 5 hand seals specifically for the Curse Mark: Heaven and it's removal. This will cause my index and middle fingers to seem to glow with a yellow flame on them together. Then I'll take those two fingers and outline the mark. And finally, I'll "poke" you pretty hard on top of the mark and you'll fall unconscious shortly after." Jato finished just as they had reached the hospital.

After getting Anko settled in a room, Jato the began to explain the side effects and what to expect after the removal, "You will most definitely not wake up for a whole week. When you do wake up, you will most likely be in a large amount of pain and as well as be bedridden for the next 2 months and 3 weeks. During this time, you are to do absolutely nothing! That is because during this time you will be undergoing severe changes. As the pain decreases, so does the curse mark. You be able to visibly see it 'lose it's petals' so to speak, one by one. Also, you will slowly revert back to the age you were when you first received the curse mark, hence the other reason why you shouldn't do anything you would normally do. Your body won't be used to its youngself, nor the idea of growing backwards so to speak. All right? You understand?"

"Yeah, yeah just do it already. I understand." Anko said quickly.

Jato nodded and then said, "Okay, I need you to remove you coat and your shirt and then lie down on your back."

Anko, surprisingly, blushed a little, turned around, and quickly obliged. Jato then flipped through the required hand seals and began to trace the outline of the Curse Mark: Earth with his flaming fingers. Anko cried out in pain as he suddenly jabbed her with his lit fingers and yelled "Bachiatarti Shoujin no Jutsu!" Jato bent down to whisper in her ear, "You are quite beautiful Anko-chan and strong, too. When you get better, come to me and I will retrain you to be even greater than before. Good bye, Anko-chan."

He then turned to Tsunade and said, "I'm going to go scope out the grounds now. Please remember to get Hinata's father to attend this little…spar of Naruto's and mine."

Tsunade said, "Don't worry, I'll make sure he is there."

Elsewhere in Konoha, Naruto was just finishing his breakfast, having woken up rather late due to finally having the chance to sleep in after his long journey. He sat down on his couch to think for a little bit about what he was going to do that day. _Maybe I'll go to_ _Ichiraku's later for lunch… And then I'll challenge Bushy Brows to a spar! Yeah, that's what I'll do!_ His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a strange, and yet familiar (to Naruto at least) pull on his conscious.

"**Gaki, there's a strong presence in this village of yours. The chakra seems familiar, but at the same time…different. Be careful kit, I don't want to die early cause of you. Keep a watchful eye!"**

**"**All right Fox, no worries. I've got it all under control. Do you know if I was supposed to do something else today though? I mean, I feel like I'm forgetting something…"

"**Kit, what do I look like your personal secretary?"**

"Aw come on, can't you just help me out?"

**"Fine flesh bag, you have to be at the training grounds in 5 minutes, remember?"**

"Aw crap!" Naruto said as he snapped out of the conversation with his inner demon.

He jumped off the couch, into his clothes and ran out the door towards the training area. _Well, that means no spar with Bushy Brows._ 3 minutes later Naruto arrived at the training grounds thinking to himself _"Why did I run here? I could have just easily Shunshined my way here and saved time!"_

"Glad to see you've made it in time Naruto." Tsunade said from behind Naruto with a smile. Next to her were Hyuuga Hiashi, Hinata, and Jiraiya, all of which were waiting for the "show" about to take place.

"Hai. Hai Obaa-chan. So where's this new sensei you were talkin' about? I hope he's not like Kakashi-sensei, always late." Naruto said.

"I've been here for an hour." Said Jato, stepping out of the shadows from the trees surrounding the area. "Tsunade here thinks I should train you. However, I think you're a kid whose not worth my time. Prove me wrong."

"No problem! But since you know my name, it's only fair that I know yours." Naruto said with a light of defiance in his eyes.

Jato responded, "My name is Jato. Now show me your power Fox!"

Naruto growled at being called "Fox" and started towards his mystery opponent. Naruto brought up his right his going for a straightforward punch to Jato's face. Jato merely smiled, stuck out his tongue and then channeled chakra through it. Naruto, as well as the bystanders, were all shocked by the unorthodox block. Jato smirked and said, "You need to be a little more tricky than that kid."

Jato jumped back and performed the required seals to make ten Kage Bunshin. He silently gave them their orders and each one disappeared into the surrounding foliage. "_All of you except one I need to hide and be ready to be replaced and battle. You over there on the right, you are going to sift through our information and find what makes this kid tick. Once you do, dispel and give me the information."_

Jato then returned to Naruto who seemed to be trying to think up some sort of battle plan. Growing bored, Jato propelled himself forward and into the air, brought his left foot forward. Seeing this, Naruto returned his attention to the battle and threw up a block to what he anticipated to be a flying roundhouse kick. He was correct and caught Jato's foot in his two hands. Unfortunately for Naruto, as Jato feel back to the ground, he twisted his leg, and flung Naruto off and into a nearby tree.

Dusting himself off, Jato waited for Naruto to get up and said, "All right, let's make this interesting with a couple of rules. First off, no Kekkei Genkai's or their techniques. I'm doing this for your benefit. Second, try to limit yourself to mostly jutsus of your element. And lastly, you have to try to kill me. If you can land a what would be considered a mortal wound on a normal person on me, I'll give ya' something special." Jato said with a glint in his eyes.

Naruto smirked and replied, "Let's go wild!" Naruto started to run forward while creating a Rasengan.

Right at that moment, the reconnaissance clone dispelled giving Jato the needed information. He suddenly smirked and said, "You would fight a battle like that, wouldn't you dobe?"

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and the Rasengan slowly dissipated. You would think he wouldn't be fazed by something so trivial like that, having gone through it all of his life. That wasn't what made him freeze though. What made him freeze was that after his opponent said those words, fire started to crawl up their feet. Slowly, the boots went away and became ninja sandals. Next, the white puffy pants and the thin shirt were replaced with the typical Sound Ninja uniform, along with the sash and kusunagi sticking out of the back. And last, but not least, the once smiling face turned into the trademark scowl of Uchiha Sasuke, along with the rest of the face. "What, not happy to seem me dobe?"

"YOU'RE NOT HIM! YOU'RE NOT HIM!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs.

"You don't believe me? O well, you never were the most perceptive ninja anyway. Besides, I fooled those old losers now didn't I?" Sasuke said as he pointed to the two Sannin and the Hyuuga. Had Naruto been thinking straight, he would have noticed the lack of A.N.B.U. at the scene or that fact that none of the bystanders seemed to care. Jato did though _"Glad to know that my double genjutsu is going off without a hitch."_ The double genjutsu was used so that Naruto saw Sasuke, but the bystanders saw Naruto freaking out at the normal Jato.

"Let me prove it to you then dobe. Feel the power of the Curse Mark!" Jato shouted as he appeared to Naruto to have leveled up to the second level.

Naruto yelled inwardly,_ "Now would be a good time to help fox!"_

**"Get movin' kit!" **the Kyubbi yelled.

Suddenly, a bright flash of red chakra came out of Naruto and three chakra tails sprouted. Jato smirked inwardly, still under the guise of Sasuke and thought to himself _"Good, he's drawing on the fox's power. This should be fun, no, Ryu?"_

"**Yes, I too would like to test our mettle against my old friend, Kyubbi no Kitsune." **Said a voice from within Jato.

"Let me prove it further still." 'Sasuke' said before saying in a dark voice, "Chidori." 'Sasuke' (or Jato to anyone besides Naruto) began his sprint towards Naruto. Seeing this, Naruto rekindled the Rasengan and charged forward as well. They met in the center of grounds and they met with a bang. The power from both attacks launched the two opponents backwards and created an extremely large and deep crater in the middle. Both sustained injuries that would hinder any normal shinobi their age wouldn't be able to stand. However, both shinobi stood up and watched as the other's wounds were almost instantly healed. Naruto picked up on this and shouted, "I knew you weren't Sasuke! Even in that state of his Curse Mark, he can't heal as quickly as I do! Drop the henge Jato!"

'Sasuke' smirked and suddenly became Jato again. "Good, I was hoping you'd pick up on that."

Narutp rushed forward again, Kyubbi chakra extensions and all, and began a vicious Taijutsu battle with Jato. Punches and kicks flew back and forth, though both were able to block some, Naruto ended up receiving the majority of the landed blows. They finally both jumped back to catch a breather. After a couple of seconds, Jato performed the Shunshin and sent eight of his nine Kage Bunshin out to play. While Naruto slowly worked his way through the durable Kage Bunshin, Jato awaited in the far tree for the opportune moment to land his attack. Finally after defeating all the clones, Naruto started looking around as the Kyubbi's chakra slowly began to dissipate. Behind him suddenly appeared Jato with a kunai to Naruto's throat. "Well, it was nice playing with you Naruto. Looks like you failed."

However, Naruto merely let his hands drop and then performed a cutting motion with his fingers pointed behind his back. He wordlessly performed the Kaze no Yaiba, large enough to cut Jato in half from the midsection down. It actually did!

Just as this was happening, Jato plunged the kunai into Naruto's neck. Naruto puffed into a cloud, indicating that he was only a cloud, causing Jato to chuckle. He then dispelled himself as Naruto appeared behind him instead. And then, for the final time, Jato appeared behind him, this time with his sword drawn and across Naruto's neck. "Well, it seems as if you attained your goal Naruto. Congratulations." Jato said.

Just as Naruto was about to reply, Jato cut in and said, "But let's see how well you dodge." And kicked Naruto (hard) forward while removing his sword.

Jato then shouted "Heru Moui no Jutsu!" as a wave of black red energy erupted from his hand and towards Naruto. Fortunately, Naruto preformed the Kawarimi just in time as the blast caught up to him. It continued on for another mile into the forest destroying all in its path. Naruto came out of the bushes behind the spectators breathing hard. He a content look on his face and said "When can you teach me that, sensei?" as he fell to the ground due to chakra depletion (the Kyubbi's chakra had diffused by that point).

Jato was smiling as well as he made his way through the scarred battlefield and towards the spectators. "Well, Hiashi, do you still think I am unfit to teach your daughter?"

Having seen the might of his last attack, Hiashi replied, "You may teach her. However, if any ill comes out of it, I will not rest until you pay." Hiashi then turned around and started walking back to the Hyuuga Clan Complex.

Jato turned to Hinata and said, "I will meet you and Naruto on top of the Hokage Monument at six o'clock tonite. Make sure he gets there on time."

"Hai. Thank you Jato-sensei, we shall see you in five and half hours." Hinata said as she too began to walk towards the Hyuuga Clan Complex.

Tsunade started walking to the Hokage Tower while motioning for Jato and Jiraiya to follow. Jiraiya picked up Naruto in stride and followed along thinking to himself _"After all that training, he still doesn't know when to stop. Oh well, I guess that's just Naruto for you. This Jato kid is interesting, I wonder where Tsunade-hime met him?_"

By the time the four of them made it back to the tower, Naruto was already back up on his feet, albeit a little slower than usual. The older trio sent him home to recuperate a bit more using the "We need to have a small conference" excuse.

They slowly made their way up to Tsunade's office and once inside, Jiraiya performed a sound barrier jutsu to prevent eavesdropping. Tsunade turned to Jato and asked, "So what'd you think?"

Jato stood in thought for a minute before answering, "Well, on a technical level he is very unbalanced. He's got absolutely no talent for genjutsu, nor do I see him ever using it. He's too much of an up close and personal kind of fighter to use the vast majority anyway."

At this point Jiraiya butted in and said, "Yeah, yeah, tell us something we don't know." Tsunade on the other hand chose to remain quiet.

"Anyway, his taijutsu is okay, but extremely unorthodox. I can't even guess what possible style he could be using, and that's saying something. He sure isn't using the standard leaf style. All of his movements either seemed forced and jerky or acted on due to his emotions." Jato analyzed.

"Well… that's probably because they are. When I went training with him, he refused to learn any real form of Taijutsu saying that his had always worked fine for him. So I let it go and decided to focus on Ninjutsu only with him, though we did have spars every now and then." Jiraiya admitted.

Jato replied, "Well, he's going use a real style once I'm through with him, whether he likes it or not. His Ninjutsu was excellent though from what I've seen and from what I've been told. From the little that I've seen so far, he knows when and how to use his favored jutsu. Also, I've…'seen' his entire jutsu repertoire and he knows a fair amount of each element."

Tsunade choose this point to speak up, "Where will you be taking them and how often will I hear from you?"

"The destination is still undetermined. I'm thinking we'll spend sometime in Kiri, some around my domain, and some on an island off the coast of the Fire-Mist border. As for updates and such, I'll send you a report of progress every other week or maybe every other month. It'll depend on how much the advance in what period of time and it may vary." Said Jato.

Tsunade nodded and asked, "Is there anything you'll need?"

Jato stood there, seemingly debating with himself on something. He finally said, "I would like for you to send Hinata and Naruto on a mission east. I don't care what town. I'll set up traps with explosives that should be able to be seen from Konoha. I want everyone to think that the two of them are dead, it'll help with the Akatsuki problem."

"Alright, just make sure no one gets hurt. I'll most likely have to send out search parties, so be sure to be long gone soon after the explosion." Tsunade said.

"And take care of my student, kid. 'Cause if you don't I'll pummel you." Said Jiraiya showing an amount of concern for Naruto never expressed before.

"Hai. Well, I'm off to get some rest and then introduce myself to my two new apprentices. Good night." Jato said as he moved to the door.

-------6:00 pm that night-----

"Man where is this guy?!" Naruto said impatiently.

"Again, I've been here for quite awhile. Learn to notice your surroundings, got it?"

Naruto merely grumbled a positive and waited for Jato to start talking again.

"We'll start with some introductions. I'd like to know whatever you would find useful to tell me, or if you've done this before use the same format you did last time." Jato said.

"I like pressing flowers and making herbal creams to help make my friends better. I dislike some of my clan's traditions like the Caged Bird Seal, as well as people who judge others currently based upon the ways of the past. I aspire to be a strong clan leader someday. My dream is…" Hinata said while blushing and looking in Naruto's direction.

Jato sighed to himself, "_I hope this won't be a hindrance in our training. It's so obvious that she likes him, how can he not know?"_

"Alright thank you Hinata. Your turn Naruto, then I'll go." Jato said.

"I like ramen, learning new jutsu and training. I dislike the three minutes it takes to make ramen, a certain Hebi-teme, and people who judge others because of something that's not their fault. I wanna' become strong enough to protect my precious people and bring back Sasuke-teme. My dream is to one day be Hokage and have the whole village respect me." Naruto said in a calm manner, unlike the last time he had to do this little "exercise".

Jato smiled at the last part and said, "How very admiral of the both of you. Unfortunately, I'm not so much like that. I like… not much actually, besides pretty women of course" He said with a grin.

This caused both of his students to think, _"Oh no, have we gotten stuck with a pervert?_"

"And no, I'm not a pervert, I just appreciate the female figure. I dislike most of the Akatsuki, most of the kages in the world, Stone Country, Lightning Country, and Sound Country. I don't have any dreams. But I do have a goal, and that's to have both of you become two of the strongest shinobi in the world." Jato said.

At this point, Hinata decided to ask a question, "Sensei, why do you hate those three countries? You don't have any country affiliation, so I don't understand why you have these hard feelings."

Jato smiled and said, "Good question Hinata. I hate them because they all have bounties out on my head, albeit for different reasons. In fact, they want me dead so badly that the historians saying I'm beginning to give the Yondaime a run for his money as to how much money is on my head."

Both of his students were in awe for a minute or two. Naruto broke the silence by asking, "Why do you like any of the Akatsuki? They're an evil organization."

"Ah, you see I have a spy in there who happens to be one of my best friends. Maybe, if you're lucky, I'll get him to come and give you guys a few pointers or something." Jato said with a glint in his eye.

"Well, now that we've got that over with, I'm going to give you both your instructions for the start of our journey. First off, go buy new clothes, I don't care how much, but don't come to me tomorrow with only the kind of clothes you have on now. You understand later. I also suggest you by traveling cloaks and replace any and all old equipment. Other than that all you might want is something to sleep in and on. Tomorrow morning you both are to report to Tsunade and receive your mission from her. You are not to say a word of this to anyone. Understand?"

Naruto and Hinata both nodded. Jato then disappeared, as a fire seemed to consume his form from the feet up. Once he was gone, Naruto turned to Hinata and said, "Well Hinata, looks like I'm gonna take you on that adventure sooner than we thought, ne?"

------------------------------Jutsu--------------------------------

Rasengan – A sphere of chakra manipulated in the palm of the wielder. Widely destructive.

Chidori – An electrical assassination technique. Wielder must thrust their arm into the intended target, causes tunnel vision.

Kaze no Yaiba – A Wind Blade that requires no weapon to perform.

Heru Moui no Jutsu - O.J. (original jutsu). It's a blackish red wide beam of chakra "shot" or blasted from the hand. To form it, the hand is held in the same position as the Rasengan. This means Hell Fury Technique.

Bachiatari Shoujin no Jutsu – O.J. (original jutsu). It is used to remove any of the Curse Marks made by Orochimaru, as was created by Jato. This means Damned Purification Technique.

----------------------Author's Side notes----------------------

I know I didn't use very many jutsu this chapter, but don't worry, the battles will have more ninjutsu in them in the future. If anyone knows where I can get the translations for the English jutsu I currently have posted, I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me. Please read in review, constructive criticism is a bonus. If you see anything wrong with what I have written (be it grammar, spelling, or known facts about the Naruto universe) please, please tell me. I will fix it as soon as I receive word of it (make sure you support it though if it's a Naruto fact).

Thank you,

Mouldy

P.S. I will resume writing after the 1st of January. Happy Holidays!


	3. Way Away From Here We’ll Be

1"Hello" normal speech

_Hello_ normal thought

"**Hello" **demon/summon speech

Hello _**demon/summon thought**_

Author's notes: Thanks again to those of you who reviewed.

**Loki09 aka ttre208: **Thank you very much for the Japanese translator (as you can see, it came in handy) as well as for pointing out the curse mark situation.

**--------------------**Chapter 3: Way Away From Here We'll Be**---------------------**

_Champion:_ _An ardent defender or supporter of a cause or another person_

After disappearing from his new students, Jato went to the house of Tsunade to drop off a note. He left it on her bed in hopes that she would read it before tomorrow. Fortunately for him, she found it later that night on her return home from work. Surprised, Tsunade picked it up and read, "_Dear Tsunade, please send Naruto and Hinata north bound first instead of east like I asked you earlier. I want to try to throw Akatsuki for an even bigger loop. I have decided that I will report to you every other month instead, as every other week would be a bother. On a final note, I would like you to inform Naruto as to whom his parents are. It would probably be better coming from you than me, and I need him to understand why he is able to use his father's techniques once I teach them to him. Take care, Jato." _

Tsunade went to sleep with a smile as she began to dream of how strong the young boy she had taken to so well (Naruto) would become.

Bright and early the next morning (for Tsunade that is), both Hinata and Naruto were waiting at Tsunade's office door (it was really about eight o'clock). Hinata was quietly waiting patiently, while Naruto on the other hand was grumbling under his breath about poor choices for Hokage… when he heard a sneeze and then got violently slammed into the wall. It turns out the Tsunade was right behind him during his mumbling, and had sneezed due to being badmouthed without knowing. The force of the sneeze blew Naruto into the wall and covered him (partially) in snot. Tsunade, having realized that it was Naruto who caused her to sneeze, just said, "What goes around comes around, brat." With a smirk as she walked into her office.

Hinata followed her in, and Naruto picked himself up and proceeded in as well. Once they were all inside, Tsunade sat behind her desk and began to brief them on their 'mission'. "Your mission will be to head north about fifty kilometers to the nearby town, there has been a report of criminal activity and I would like you to check it out. This is a C rank mission. Before I tell you anymore, do you both accept?" Tsunade asked.

Both teenagers shook their heads and Tsunade began again, "You will have until noon to leave for your mission. Gather the needed supplies and head out. You will both meet at the North Gate at noon, or an earlier time decided on by the both of you. You know what to do."

Naruto and Hinata both nodded and began to leave. However, Tsunade called out to Naruto saying, "You stay behind, Naruto. I have to have an important discussion with you."

Hinata lingered shortly before Tsunade dismissed her saying it didn't concern her. She left soon afterwards. "Naruto, do you know anything about your parents?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto replied, "No, no one could ever tell me. I just assumed that they died in the battle against the Kyubbi."

Tsunade frowned slightly before saying, "Well, you should know that they were great people. Now, I have here a large scroll addressed to you. It has a blood seal on it that will allow no one but you to open it. I want you to read it before you leave today and always keep it on your person. Understand?"

Naruto held the calm look on his face and merely nodded, waiting for Tsunade to continue. Seeing this, Tsunade began speaking once more, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask Jiraiya or I before you leave. Also, I have another something for you. Before he died, Sarutobi-sensei wrote in his will that you were to receive these two items upon reaching the age of sixteen. However, as there 'might' be a chance that I will not see you then, I'm giving them to you now. However, you are not allowed to open either of them until you birthday."

Tsunade then gave Naruto a small scroll and a large chest. "Thanks Obaa-chan! See you in a few years!" Naruto yelled as he began to make his way out of the room.

Tsunade smirked and said, "What, you think taking out a bunch of petty criminals is gonna' take a chunnin that long?" with a wink as she threw a brand new chunnin vest at him. "Now get outta my office brat!"

Naruto just smiled and left with his newly acquired goods. He walked to his apartment in excitement, but managed to wait until he could get behind closed doors to read his letter. Once he finally made it inside, he sat down the couch. Next, he bit his thumb and ran the blood over the area of the seal. The seal dislodge with a "poof" and Naruto opened the scroll to begin reading.

"_Dear Naruto, I assume that because you are reading this, you have become a young man, or old man Hokage decided you were ready for it. First off, I'm sorry I had to seal the Kyubbi no Kitsune inside of you. It had to be done. Not only were you one of the few babies born on that fateful day, you were my son. How could I ask someone else to give up their child to protect the village if I couldn't? So I had to choose you. Besides, I figured that since I would have to leave you in the world alone (they told me your mother died in giving birth to you, sadly I was unable to be with her at the time) I would leave you with a strong power to protect you. The Kyubbi may be a teme, but he is just like another creature and would rather live instead of dyeing. Your mother and I love you very much, and know that we will always be watching over you. Also, know that you are from one of the more prominent clans in Konoha, the Namikaze. Unfortunately all the rest of our family was wiped out before I even began writing this letter (they died trying to stop the Kyubbi from attacking the village). On a lighter note, I have left you some things sealed within this scroll (five at the moment, maybe another if I think of something before I leave to do the sealing). Ask the old pervert (I'm sure you've met him by now, after all he was my sensei) how to unseal the items, hopefully they'll be able to help you. I'm sorry that I can't write anymore, the Kyubbi approaches. Live a good life my son and protect those who are precious to you. Love, Namikaze Minato the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha."_

There were tearstains across the large scroll, both dried and fresh. The scroll dropped from Naruto's hands as he continued to cry. While he was sad that his family had already passed on, the tears were mainly of joy. Naruto was so glad that he knew he had a family that loved him (albeit before he was born) and that he now knew who his parents were, that he sat there with a smile on his face despite the tears. He finally composed himself as he remembered what his father had written, "_Ask the old pervert how to unseal the items."_

Naruto got up and packed his new clothes and weapons that he had bought the night before. He then pulled out a large scroll that he had also bought and sealed the scroll and chest from the Sandaime into it. He put the scroll into his travel pack grabbed his father's scroll, and made of to find Jiraiya.

After searching Konoha for three hours with no success, Naruto heard a strange sound coming from behind a house on his left. He decided to check it out lest someone should be in trouble. He then found what he was looking for. There was Jiraiya, peeping on the women in the bathtub through the window he was looking through. Naruto rolled his eyes, grabbed his old sensei's collar and began to drag him to the front of the house. Once Jiraiya got over the lose of his potential research, he turned to Naruto and said, "What do you want, brat?"

"I have something I need you to unseal, do you mind if we go somewhere a little more…private?" Naruto said seriously.

Jiraiya replied, "Sure, let's go to your apartment."

The two made their way back to Naruto's apartment. Once they were inside, Jiraiya performed a sound barrier jutsu to ensure their privacy. He pulled up one of the kitchen chairs and said, "So, what is it that you needed me for so badly?"

"Obaa-chan gave me a scroll from my father today. In it, he said that there were several objects that you would know how to get out upon reading the scroll. Also, why didn't you ever tell me?" Naruto yelled the last part.

"Sarutobi-sensei ordered us to never tell you until you reached the appropriate age. I'm sorry. Anyway, let me see the letter and I'll see what I can do." Jiraiya said as he gestured to Naruto to hand him the scroll.

Satisfied because he could see the old man Hokage doing something like that, Naruto handed over the scroll to Jiraiya. Jiraiya read it over twice before smiling at the reminder of his old student. Jiraiya looked over to Naruto and said, "Yeah, I can unseal these. He used the first seal I ever taught him to make seal each one away. I guess he figured I'd like to see a little reminder of him someday kinda."

He then stood up and performed the counter seal six times, one for each item (plus another possible one). Six poofs were seen as the items came out from the scroll one at a time. The first visible object seen was a scroll wrapped around a three-pronged kunai. Jiraiya's eyes widened at this as he said to Naruto, "I didn't know he ever wrote down the Hiraishin no Jutsu. I thought he kept everything he knew about it in his head."

The next item to appear was a key tied around another scroll. Naruto picked it up and opened it. It turned out to be the deed to a home on the far side of the village that his parents owned apparently. Naruto was about to give an "All Right!" but was silenced as the next item came out.

In silence, they awaited for the next item to appear. A large chest appeared filled to the brim with ryo that the Yondaime had most likely withdrawn from his account prior to his death, seeing as there was quite a large sum. Naruto's eyes popped out of his head as he exclaimed, "Wow! I'm set now!"

After getting over their surprise, they noticed that the next item had appeared. The scroll that appeared was labeled _The Namikaze Clan._ Naruto was about to pick it up when he saw the next item.

The last item didn't appear to be much. It was a manila envelope labeled _Missions assigned by the Yondaime Hokage._ Naruto picked it up and opened it. On the inside, there were several mission specs and a note. It said, _"Naruto, I hope that someday you'll follow in my footsteps to become Hokage. If you do, you made need to know about some of these missions to help clear things up, for they are not recorded in the official missions' book. Know that occasionally a Hokage has to assign some things that shouldn't be publicly known, but are still for the good of his village. Signed, Namikaze Minato."_

Naruto's eyes widened as he read the mission on top of all the others. It was assigned to one Uchiha Itachi and was a two part mission. The first part was to (in his discretion) act as a spy in the Uchiha clan and dispose of any and all conspirators against anyone within Konoha. The second part was an infiltration mission of a new and possible threat, the rising of the Akatsuki organization. After reading the mission details, Naruto thought to himself, _"Well this explains a lot then. Maybe with this I can bring back Sasuke!"_

Jiraiya suddenly cut into Naruto's thoughts and interjected, "Shouldn't you be getting ready? I could have sworn Tsunade-hime told me you were going on a mission today."

Naruto said, "Oh crap! I forgot!" He then began to rush around, gathering all the things he had packed earlier as well as grabbing three scrolls. Using a simple seal Jiraiya had taught him on their journeys, he sealed 2 of the six items into each scroll and threw them in his pack. He yelled over his shoulder to Jiraiya, "See ya Ero-Sennin! When I get back I'll be able to take even you and Obaa-chan down!"

"_Well, at least he acknowledges that I'm still stronger than him. _Yeah, yeah gaki. Just get moving before you're late." Jiraiya said, smiling, as he watched his young student run out the door.

Hinata was standing at the North Gate wondering, _"When is Naruto-kun going to get here. We're supposed to leave soon. I wonder if he's alright…"_ She then saw an incoming dust cloud and smiled. Naruto was making his way towards her at top speed. He finally skidded to a stop in front of her and said, "All right Hinata, let's get this how on the road!"

Hinata managed to mumble out a "H..H..Hai." as Naruto began walking out of the village. She quickly followed and they started sprinting towards their 'goal'.

When they were about three miles away from their supposed target, they found a note tied to an arrow that was stuck in the ground. Naruto walked over to it and read it out loud. _"Naruto and Hinata, this is Jato. You are to change into your new clothes immediately. I will transport you away from this area as soon as you have done so. You have about three minutes to make the change before this note explodes. It has a three mile blast radius, I have the timing down, so don't worry. Hurry up though. Signed, Jato"_

Naruto threw down the letter and began to take his shirt off. He then remembered that Hinata was still with him and, with a slight blush said, "Maybe we should turn around, ne?"

Hinata, on the verge of fainting at the thoughts of her and Naruto undressed while being so close to the other, just shook her head "Yes" and turned around. She too began to undress after a little hesitation before remembering that the note was going to explode soon. They finished in a little under a minute and a half and stood there waiting nervously for Jato. Suddenly, a rip appeared in the air in between them. Three of Jato's Kage Bunshin hopped out, as well as an arm. The arm belonged to the original Jato, and he pulled them into the tear and away from the blast zone. Meanwhile, two of the Kage Bunshin performed an advanced henge, one into Hinata and one into Naruto. About three seconds later, the scroll detonated, leaving a huge crater and creating a sizable flash that was seen all the way in Konoha. On the other side of the tear, Naruto yelled at Jato, "What was that all about! Any later and we would have been killed! Besides, I've never heard of any jutsu that can pull that off!"

Jato smirked as he saw that Naruto noticed the blade in his hand. He then said, "That was the Riariti Heki. It allows me to set up a…tunnel of sorts to hasten a short distanced trip."

Naruto was still angry though and yelled, "But why'd you have to do that, we coulda' been killed!"

"Well, A: you were never going to end up being killed. B: In needed to have a reason for the search parties to find 'your' body parts." Jato said.

"Our…our body parts? Wh…why? What do…you mean?" Hinata said this time.

"I need for everyone to think that the two of you are dead, hence the reason why I had my bunshin henge into you guys. They'll survive the blast but break up into small pieces, thus giving the evidence that you two are dead. Now come on, we have to start moving if we're going to fool anybody." Jato said as he jumped into the trees and started running away. The Naruto and Hinata quickly followed, not wanting to be left behind.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, Tsunade had a team of A.N.B.U. in front of her awaiting instructions regarding the blast. "Go and see what happened, I had two chunnin supposed to be up in that area by about now. Bring them back here to report what happened, as well as any evidence you might find."

The A.N.B.U replied, "Hai!" as they set off towards the blast zone. When the A.N.B.U. arrived, all they found was the huge crater and a couple of pieces of 'Naruto and Hinata'. Suddenly, a man appeared not too far away from who looked strangely like the one of them had seen coming out of the Godaime's office. He looked up, with a shadow over his face so that only his orange, gold eyes could be seen and said, "Tell the Godaime, I enjoyed the two toys she sent me to play with, especially the girl, love Ryu Jato." He suddenly started hackling as he then imploded, creating another crater within the first. The A.N.B.U. collected the remains, took notes and observed the area before heading back towards Konoha.

The A.N.B.U. arrived back in Konoha and went to the Hokage's office to make their report. "Godaime-sama, we went to the site you instructed us to. When we arrived, we found some of the remains of Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata. Also, a certain man gave us a message for you." The captain said before relating the dark message.

Tsunade did her best to look shaken, and replied, "Thank you, we'll have a proper burial within the week. Alert the engraver that we will need his services for the memorial stone. Dismissed."

Elsewhere in the world, Jato brought the little group to a halt and said, "We'll stop here for you two to sleep tonight. Tomorrow we shall officially start your training."

Naruto and Hinata began to set up their tents, while Jato just summoned one from within the large scroll he had had on his back. He then turned to his soon to be apprentices and said, "Naruto, you and I will go and get firewood. Hinata, you go with one of my clones and see what kind of provisions you can find."

Both students complied and began moving to begin the tasks. Once they were a good distance away from the campsite, Jato tapped Naruto on the shoulder. Naruto turned around, while Jato began to speak. "Naruto, give me your hand." He said in all seriousness.

"If this is somethin' weird, I'm gonna' kick your…" Naruto started.

Jato shook his head angrily and said, "Just do it."

Their hands connected and suddenly, they were in a different world of sorts. Naruto, initially fazed, looked around and figured out that they were in his head. The dark, cold place seemed to be brighter and warmer than usual. _"__**Hello, Kyubbi no Kitsune. It is nice to see you again." **_Said a deep, unfamiliar voice.

Naruto looked over in the direction that the voice came from and saw Jato with a large, serpentine looking dragon behind him. Before he was able to say anything, the Kyubbi replied, _**"Joukuu no Ryu, what brings you here inside my vessel's mind?"**_

"_We have come to tell Naruto here some things in private, though of course you are welcome to stay." _Jato said.

"_**Get on with it then."**_ Replied the Kyubbi in an almost friendly tone.

"_Naruto, you and I are…similar. We both have a demon inside of us. However, there is a difference between us. I have become one with Joukuu, while you and the Kyubbi are still two. I would like for you to attain the same thing as I have." Jato said._

"_Why would I want to be one with him? Wouldn't that just be letting him out?"Naruto asked._

"_There are several reasons. First and foremost, you'd be making sure he could never be extracted, thus he will never be able to hurt your friends. Second, in time you'll gain full control over all of his chakra and abilities as well as gain some of his more positive attributes." Jato said._

"_**And what makes you think I want to be even closer to this brat?" Kyubbi asked.**_

"_**Kyubbi-san, the merge is not total, as you can see. We are one, but separate. Jato is much like a rectangle and I like a square. While he is me, I am not him. We also both have our own intellects. Also, you get to feel…alive again." Joukuu said with a sound of relish.**_

By this point, they had Naruto and the Kyubbi pretty much convinced. Jato finished it up with, _"All you have to do is memorize the hand seals a show you and do exactly as I say."_

Naruto thought for a moment and then said, _**"**__Okay, we'll do it."_

Jato then showed them the twelve needed hand signs and then said, _"Now, once you have done the hand signs, you both need to pour as much chakra as possible into the jutsu. This is done to help meld the two of you together. Kyubbi, if you could bring him here to practice while he sleeps from now on, that would be good. I'd like you to complete this transformation as soon as possible that way we can get a move on with your training."_

Naruto nodded as he made a mental note of the hand signs. This resulted in them being written on the far wall in bright red signs. Jato laughed and said, _"That's good. Before you make the transformation, I want you to tell Hinata before you do this though, because she will not only feel the power of the full force of the Kyubbi's chakra, but she will also feel a new chakra that is similar to both of yours. I am going to inform her tonight about Joukuu."_

"_How many tails does Joukuu have? It looks like he has only the one that's connected to you." Naruto said._

_Jato replied, "That's because I have assimilated all 8 tails of his chakra. So therefore, __he__ doesn't really have tails, I do. But don't worry, I only achieved this state a year and a half ago, and I've been training with his chakra since I was three. Now, we have to finish collecting the firewood. Let's go Joukuu."_

And just like that, they were back in the real world still shaking hands. Jato let go and started to pick up tinder and dry wood. Naruto, still a little dazed by the sudden intrusion into his mind, followed suit and began to pick up firewood. Once they had enough, they began to walk back to the camp. As Jato passed Naruto, he said to him, "By the way, the jutsu you're trying to learn is called Shitai Hatamata Reikon Heigou no Jutsu. It is a little inaccurately named though."

They reached camp and began to build the fire just before Hinata and the clone returned with a small rabbit and some wild herbs. Together, they prepared and cooked the meat and then sat down to eat their meal. Once they were done eating, Naruto asked Jato "You seem to know a lot about us. Can you tell us some things about yourself?"

Jato looked up from the fire and said, "Do you want me to tell you the old story, or the new one?"

Naruto looked on in confusion while Hinata remained silent. Jato then said, "I'll tell you what, if you can master what I have asked you to do within two weeks, I will tell you my newer life story. The older one will have to come later, once I know you more. Deal?"

"Deal sensei." Naruto replied with his trademark grin.

This time, Hinata spoke up saying, "Jato-sensei, where are we going?"

Jato grinned and then said, "Way away from here we'll be. We're going to continue to move quickly towards our destination and stop at night to learn some things. We'll also give lectures on different subjects during our travels."

Naruto looked up, suddenly interested again and said, "Can you teach us some jutsu now?!"

Jato thought for a moment and said, "I already taught you one today, Naruto. However, I haven't taught Hinata one yet. But you'll have to earn it. There's still some daylight left, let's spar."

Jato got up and helped Hinata up before getting into a fighting stance neither of the two apprentices had ever seen. Hinata activated her Byakugan and settled into the Gentle Fist stance as she waited for Jato to make the first move. Seeing this, Jato flipped through some hand seals and yelled out, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"

Hinata saw this and dodged the fireballs as she ran forward, hoping to find an opening. She engaged Jato in Taijutsu for two minutes straight before finally backing off, seeing as she wasn't getting anywhere.

Seeing an opening, Jato fired off another jutsu yelling, "Fuuton: Reppushou!" He then threw several gales of wind towards Hinata. Hinata managed to doge most of them, but in dodging them, the gales made small cuts all through her shirt.

Hinata began to blush as she realized that Naruto may be able to see parts of her body. Jato simply called an end to the bout saying that Hinata had done a good job and that he would now teach her a new jutsu after she changed her shirt into something more comfortable.

Hinata quickly went into her tent and changed before coming back out. Jato was standing there, patiently waiting. "The jutsu I'm going to teach you is incredibly useful to use against other people with a doujutsu. It's called the Tomoshibi no Tate. It covers you in light, to protect your chakra circulatory system. It varies in color depending on your personality, mine happens to be a blackish red." Jato said before showing her the necessary hand seals.

"Thank you sensei, I'll have to remember to use this next time I spar with Neji-nisan." Hinata said after memorizing the hand seals. She practiced it the rest of the night while Naruto watched. After going at it for awhile, Hinata wondered to herself, "_How does sensei know what color his is? Does he have a doujutsu as well?"_

Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Tsunade had a furious Hyuuga Hiashi to deal with. "Do you mean to tell me, that after being within his care for less than an hour, my daughter is dead! I knew nothing good would come out of this!" Hiashi shouted. Tsunade turned to Jiraiya, who for some reason was present at the time, and asked, "Put up a sound barrier so we can discuss this properly please."

Jiraiya complied before moving back to his station, behind Tsunade. "Hiashi, you daughter is alive and well, the explosion and everything else was merely a ploy to make everyone believe that your daughter and Uzumaki Naruto were dead. This was done for safety reasons as wells as convenience."

Hiashi was quiet for a moment before asking, "When will we hear from them?"

Tsunade replied, "We will hear from them again within a month and then every other month after that. However, you must continue acting as if she was dead or you will destroy the entire plan. Understood?"

Hiashi stood there contemplating for a little bit before saying, "Hai, please alert me when you hear from them though. Thank you Godaime-sama, and good night."

Hiashi left Tsunade's office and closed the door on the way out. Both sannin let out a sigh of relief now that he was gone. Jiraiya turned to Tsunade and said, "Well, that went better than I thought it would."

Tsunade merely grumbled an agreement before pulling out a sake bottle and two cups from a secret compartment in her desk. They drank through the night as the talked about recent events and old times.

Back at the campsite, Jato sat there thinking to himself, _"I hope that crush she has on the kid won't interfere with my training her. If it does, I might have to crush it."_

Naruto and Hinata were just about to turn in for the night when Naruto turned to Hinata and said, "Well, it looks like you got that adventure you wanted, ne Hinata?" with a grin on his face.

----------------------------Jutsu-----------------------------------

Fuuton: Reppushou – Gale Wind Palm. Allows user to send gusts of wind towards his opponent.

Katon: Housenka no Jutsu – Mythical Phoenix Fire Technique. The ninja does the necessary hand seals and then emits a series of small fire balls.

(Kenpou) Riariti Heki – (Sword Art) Reality Tear [O.J. or original jutsu. Creates a portal between average amounts of space, allowing quick transport. Works up to a range of 5 miles.

Shitai Hatamata Reikon Heigou no Jutsu– Body and Soul Merge Technique (O.J.). Used to bind a human and another being together.

Tomoshibi no Tate – Shiled of Light (O.J.). Used to handicap a doujutsu user as well as to hide the chakra circulatory system's vital points.

--------------------------Author's Side notes----------------------

Turns out I did have a computer accessible over the break (albeit with no internet), so here it is. Well, I threw in some more jutsu for all you fellow jutsu freaks. As usual, reviews are welcome, especially anything with constructive criticism in it. If you find errors of any kind, please feel compelled to tell me and I will fix it right away. Also, if you have any suggestions as to where the story should go next, feel free to give me some input.

Mouldy.


	4. Getting to Know You

1"Hello" normal speech

"_Hello"_ normal thought

"**Hello" **demon/summon speech

"**Hello"** _**demon/summon thought**_

-------------Chapter 4: Getting to Know You--------------

When Naruto and Hinata woke up the next morning, they found a note attached to Hinata's tent. It read, _"Naruto and Hinata, I have to take care of some…errands today. I want both of you to continue east as far as possible for today. Make sure you take an appropriate break for lunch and eat breakfast as well. Depending on how far you make it, feel free to get a room at an inn for the three of us. Seeing as I am not with you today, I would have you both work on team building exercises. Get to know each others' personality, weaknesses, strengths, strategies, reactions, and way of thinking. Also, Naruto, if you'd like me to teach you a new jutsu when I get back, you need to teach Hinata the __Kage Bunshin no Jutsu__ and the __Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu__ as well as how to use them efficiently. While you're at it, both of you need to remember to practice the jutsus I've already taught you and perfect them. Signed, Jato. P.S. I will be testing your teamwork tonight. P.S.S. you might notice it is a little harder to support yourself today. No worries though, that's just me."_

Naruto and Hinata were slightly confused at first, until Hinata tried to pick up her pack to get some breakfast out. She noticed that her arms were a little heavier than usual. At this point, Naruto noticed the kanji for weight written on the back of Hinata's neck. He then said, "It looks like he marked us with some kind of seal to make it seem like we are carrying more weight." He then groaned as he realized that he had one too.

They ate their breakfast in relative silence, other than asking each other how they had slept. After breakfast, they packed up and began walking. After they had walked for a couple of minutes, Naruto turned to Hinata and said, "Well, what do you want to do Hinata. This is your adventure after all, so you decide what we should do first. "

Hinata thought for a moment and then said, "Well, I…I think we sh…should practice ou…our jutsu first. Th..then work on team work. An..and after that, may…maybe you could teach me those jutsu?"

Naruto gave her one of his trade mark grins and said, "Sounds like a plan Hinata!"

They continued to walk toward their unknown destination while practicing their respective jutsus (Shitai Hatamata Reikon Heigou no Jutsu for Naruto, and Tomoshibi no Tate for Hinata). After about three hours of walking, they came across a small river and decided that they had practiced enough. They took a quick drink and decided they would walk another hour before taking a break for lunch (at noon). When noon came, they were in a small forest clearing. They sat down and began to eat; more tired than they normally would be due to the extra weight. Finally, after feeling replenished, Naruto began to ask Hinata questions. "What do you consider to be your greatest strength Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata thought quietly for a moment before saying, "My belief in my nindo way?"

Naruto nodded and said, "Come to think of it, I think that's mine too. I mean if I chose to give up instead of never backing down, where would I be today?"

This time Hinata asked a question, "What do you think your weakness is Naruto?"

Naruto was able to respond quickly, due to past experiences while on his training trip. "Genjutsu is most definitely my weakness. It takes me forever to realize that I'm in one, and I can't cast them at all. What about you Hinata?"

Hinata looked down and said, "Ninjutsu mostly and a little bit of Genjutsu as well." She felt ashamed because she had more weaknesses that Naruto.

Naruto quickly cut in saying, "That's all right, between Jato and me, we'll fix that up in no time!"

A small smile crept onto Hinata's face, bringing along the usual blush that came from being around Naruto.She remembered the task at hand and asked Naruto, "What is your strategy going into a fight?"

They kept asking each other questions for another hour. Thankfully, Hinata remembered that they were supposed to keep walking while they did this. And so, she quickly got up and motioned for Naruto to do the same. They walked in silence, each teen trapped in their own thoughts. Naruto thought to himself, _"She must have been so tired that she couldn't even stutter. She also didn't seem to be sick today…maybe she just doesn't get out enough?"_

Hinata had a blush on her face as she looked back on the wonderful, dreamlike afternoon she had had with Naruto so far. _"Naruto, it was so nice getting to know you."_

Finally, they remembered that Naruto was supposed to be teaching Hinata the assigned jutsu. They frantically began the lessons in the hopes that she would have somewhat down by the time Jato got back. By the time the decided to call it quits, they were in a small town. Hinata now could create a single Kage Bunshin and she at least understood the concepts of performing the Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu due to lacking the proper amount of chakra to perform such a technique.

The checked into an inn near the edge of town and waited for Jato to return. It was about seven o'clock when he arrived, and they had been waiting for an hour, bored in the room. Of course, he didn't use the door, or even the window. He just appeared inside of the room and scared both of his apprentices. Smirking, Jato said, "We're going to have a little spar outside, you two against me. I'll give you five minutes to plan and get ready. I'll be out back." He then disappeared again, this time via a burning flame from the bottom up.

Naruto and Hinata quickly formulated a battle plan (it was a little slipshod though), grabbed their gear and headed outside. When they got out back, they found Jato standing inside a ring in the earth. He had apparently just drawn it, as the earth was still fresh around the lines. It was about thirty feet in diameter. Jato motioned for them to come inside of the circle and said, "Show me what you have learned today. Start with the jutsu."

Naruto flipped through the needed hand signs to perform the Shitai Hatamata Reikon Heigou no Jutsu, though of course he didn't execute it. Jato nodded and motioned for Hinata to perform her jutsus. She first performed the Tomoshibi no Tate. Jato nodded again and said, "Good, it works nicely. Yours is a lavender color, in case you wanted to know. Now, show me what Naruto was able to teach you today."

"Hai." Said Hinata, as she did the hand sign for the Kage Bunshin no jutsu. She created one healthy Kage Bunshin. Jato nodded for the third time before saying, "Good progress. We will have our spar now. The both of you will be against me. We will use Taijutsu only. Your objective is for both of you to land a potentially killing blow, with the assistance of the other. Also, you may not leave the circle before I call the end of our spar. Doing so will result in a failure. Failure will earn you a punishment worthy of the failure."

Naruto and Hinata stood there waiting to begin. Still, ten minutes later, they stood patiently while Jato sat with his eyes closed. Finally, Jato shook his head and said, "This is my first practical lesson for the both of you. As soon as you know you have an opponent, attack. Don't wait for them to make it seem like its time to start the show."

Having said this, Jato jumped toward Naruto and started to perform a flying roundhouse kick. However, both Naruto and Hinata stopped him mid-jump. The two just kind of stared at each other, thus giving another opening for Jato, who turned off of their hands and nailed Hinata in the side of her head. She flew backwards, toward the edge of the circle, before she finally managed to slow herself to a stop.

Seeing that she was still in the circle, Jato charged toward her, only to find a certain blonde blocking his path. Jato stopped, interested to see what would happen next. He noticed that Naruto put his hands behind his back, before moving them around (so that Jato couldn't see what he was motioning). Hinata quickly stood up and moved to the spot where Naruto was previously standing. Naruto, on the other hand, ran to the other side of the circle. Jato smirked as he waited for the two to come.

Both Naruto and Hinata charged forward, though at different paces. Hinata came to Jato first and struck out with a palm strike aimed at Jato's chest. Jato deflected it and ducked down to send a sweep kick at Hinata. The kick knocked Hinata down to the ground. Jato started to rise up when he was suddenly caught by surprise by a flying kick to the middle of his back, courtesy of Naruto. Jato flew back several feet before "flying" over Hinata's rising form.

Just as Jato was jumping over her, Hinata shot another palm strike toward his torso. This one managed to land, causing Jato to move slightly higher into the air. He fell back about an extra five feet, landing on his feet.

As he turned to face them, Jato had a smile on his face and said, "Well done, I like what I see so far. Keep it up!"

Jato ran toward Hinata, jumped over her using her shoulders as a boost, and head butted Naruto square in the chest. Naruto fell like a brick. Jato turned around and saw Hinata staring at his unorthodox taijutsu move. Using the slight distraction, Jato ran back toward Hinata, gave her a right uppercut punch. She flew into the air due to the ferocity of the attack. He jumped ahead of her and then rammed his elbow into her back…or he would have had she been there. Before Jato could get to her, Naruto had managed to push Hinata out of the way.

"_Oh crap,"_ thought Naruto as he received the crushing blow from Jato's elbow. He started plummeting toward the ground. He landed right on top of Hinata, due to Jato changing the angle at which he hit Naruto with his elbow. Hinata and Naruto, so caught up in their awkward position, failed to notice Jato coming at them at increasing rates thanks to gravity.

He slammed into Naruto's back, again, and sent first Hinata and then Naruto into the ground, about three feet in total.

Jato stood waiting for his apprentices to make the next move for a couple of minutes before walking over to see if he had damaged them a little too much. As he neared the crevice, he was suddenly sucker punched by none other than Hinata. This time, Jato went flying up into the air having been caught off guard.

Naruto then made his move. He jumped after him and met him in the air, causing Jato to spin around. Right before Jato began to spin, Naruto did two things. He stealthily placed an explosive tag on his sensei's back as he whispered to Jato, "Never wait for your opponents to make the first move, ne sensei?"

Naruto sped away through the air before detonating the explosive tag. Naruto fell back to the ground next to Hinata. Both were shocked to see that no log or anything was replaced for Jato before the detonation. The detonation was so strong it began to rain blood.

Both Naruto and Hinata stood in shock when suddenly Jato appeared behind them and outside of the circle. They turned around as he said, "Oh, there are so many lessons I'm going to have to teach you two, aren't there?"

Hinata and Naruto still sat there dumbfounded. Jato shook his head and proceeded to say, "Okay, second practical lesson: There is but one rule in a fight. The best ninja win."

Jato then asked Hinata, "And why don't you have your Byakugan activated? Always, always, always use any advantage you have. I was impressed that you used my possible worry for my students against me, but you gotta' use every advantage."

Finally, Naruto broke free of his dumbstruck state and asked Jato, "But how did you survive? We blew you up so much that it rained your blood. I know, because I'm drenched in it!"

"I never really fought either of you. It was a clone that you killed. Also, the little blood rain was a complex genjutsu that I created to fool anyone, even someone with a doujutsu," Jato replied calmly. Jato put his hands together and said "Kai." They were both clean of all bloodstains instantly.

This shut Naruto up rather quickly. Jato said, "Way to stick by each other's side though. The teamwork you two demonstrated is widely appreciated and for that, as well as the potentially killing hits, you two win. Now, Naruto you head into the room, get cleaned up and get something to eat."

Naruto soundlessly complied. Hinata began to head toward the in as well, but Jato stopped her saying, "Hinata, how much do you know about the Nenshouhin Byakugan?"

"It's a Hyuuga family legend," said Hinata as she turned around.

"Thats a lie. The Hyuuga family made it into a legend. This was done to avoid the embarrassment of people knowing they no longer possessed it. Do you know why they lost it?" Jato asked.

Hinata shook her head no, unsure of where this was going. "It was because their spirits became impure. The original Byakugan belonged to a man who was so pure that he could almost match a Kami in positive spiritual energy. Because of this, his Byakugan was infinitely stronger than your modern one."

"But sensei, what does this have to do with me?" asked Hinata

"I believe you to be pure enough to attain such a level of mastery. Hence the reason why I took you on. From the twelve o' one a.m. tomorrow until twelve o' one a.m. thirteen days later, I want you to keep your Byakugan activated. That means even during the time you're trying to sleep. Understood?" Jato asked.

Hinata asked, "Why sensei? Won't that just drain me of chakra?"

"Well of course it will. You'll also be doing it with those weight seals I made still active." Jato said.

Hinata thought for a moment and then said, "And you think this will bring out the Nenshouhin Byakugan? Why?"

"Suddenly more confident I see, Hinata,"Jato replied, "A friend of mine, the one who asked me to train at least one Hyuuga, and I theorized that the thirteen days and thirteen nights of activation should effectively put both your Byakugan and your body under enough stress to bring about the change."

At this point, Naruto had returned, with three servings of the inn's special that night. He handed one to Hinata and then Jato. Both murmured a thank you and began to eat. Apparently, the two apprentices were extremely hungry, for they ate at a break neck speed. When they were finished, Jato turned to Hinata and said, "Go clean up and change. Then you can come back out and we'll have a lecture of some sort."

"Hai sensei." Hinata replied as she moved to go back into the inn. Once she was inside, Jato asked Naruto, "How is the Shitai Hatamata Reikon Heigou no Jutsu coming along?"

"Fine. I've got all the seals down now. I can flash through them in fifteen seconds at the least," replied Naruto.

Jato was quite for a moment. He then said, "Good, do not attempt the justu until I can supervise you and you have told Hinata about your little friend. You still don't know all that needs to be done to complete it. It's just a safety precaution, lest you should try by yourself. We wouldn't want you dying on us now would we?"

Naruto laughed and said, "No way! I still gotta' bunch of work to do! Like get back Sasuke-teme, start my own clan, and of course, become the Hokage."

"Getting back Sasuke may happen sooner than you think. But for now, all I want you to worry about is the Shitai Hatamata Reikon Heigou no Jutsu," said Jato.

Just as Naruto was going to ask Jato what he meant by that, Jato silenced him with a glare as Hinata walked up. "Good, now that we're all here, we can begin tonight's lesson," began Jato as he delved into a lecture about tactics in a one on one battle versus two on one or two on two and so on. About two hours later, Jato finished and said, "Hinata I suggest you go get ready to sleep. We leave at six tomorrow morning. Naruto, you stay here for a little bit, you've earned your jutsu."

Hinata nodded as she got up from her seat she had taken within the earthen circle to go to bed. Meanwhile, Naruto stood up and waited for Jato to do likewise so they could start the lesson. Jato stood and said, "The first justu I'm going to teach you is the Kage Bunshin Bakuha. This jutsu will allow you to implode your clones using whatever chakra they have left. It's quite useful." Jato said before showing Naruto the hand signs to perform the jutsu.

After Naruto went over it a couple of times, he tried to perform it yelling, "Kage Bunshin Bakuha!"

Ten clones appeared in the circle, before Naruto imploded all of them at once. Fortunately for the two shinobi, Naruto had neglected to put enough chakra into the bunshin to do anything substantial, unusual as it may seem. "You have to put a good amount of extra chakra into it if you want to get a substantial blast. Do us all a favor though and never use it on an ally unless it's me." said Jato.

Naruto nodded and waited for Jato to begin teaching him the next jutsu. Jato then said, "The next jutsu I'm going to teach you, you might remember from our fight. Master puppet users, who modify their body to be part puppet, are generally the only ones to use it. However, people like you and I can use it as well, albeit you need a large amount of control. This justu is the Chakra no Tate, and I used it with my tongue in our fight."

Jato performed the needed hand seals before sticking out his arm as if holding a shield. Instead of forming a shield shape (like what would happen when a puppet user would do it), it made a half sphere of chakra around the outer side of his forearm. "Hit my arm," Jato said.

Naruto began to try to hit Jato's arm but found that he could not reach it through the barrier. Naruto stopped after several unsuccessful attempts before asking Jato, "Why did you say that only people like us can use the Chakra no Tate like this?"

"We have absurd amounts of chakra, Naruto. Without that factor, it'd probably be more of a liability than a help," said Jato "Now, you try."

"Well at least the fox is good for something," Naruto said before making the hand seals Jato had shown him and then channeling the chakra to around his fist. He was proud to have gotten it on his first try, which merited for a "celebration." He threw a punch at Jato spontaneously, only to find the punch blocked and the shield dissipating. Naruto looked over at Jato inquisitively.

Jato saw the look on Naruto's face and started to explain, "First off, you shield was already dying before it reached me. Unlike puppet masters, you and I have to channel a continuous stream of chakra to the area to keep up the shield. The strength of the shield depends on how large an amount of chakra you channel in at one time and keep channeling. The other reason it died so suddenly was because when I caught your fist, I performed the Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu, thus allowing me to absorb the chakra you had already put out."

"Can you teach me that? And how'd you do that with no seals?" Naruto asked eagerly.

Jato replied, "I could, but for you and me it's really quite pointless. We have such an over abundance of chakra that taking extra is a total waste. Besides, I already taught you two jutsu today and you need to sleep. The no hand seals part comes with more experience, an extremely good ability to concentrate on multiple things, and practicing the jutsu until it almost becomes like a second nature to you. "

Naruto moped for a second before he thought of a question. He asked, "Will the Chakra no Tate defend against anything, even Juuken strikes?"

Jato nodded and said, "So long as there is more chakra backing your shield than the chakra behind the attack. Now, get moving. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and I refuse to carry you if you get too tired."

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Night sensei," Naruto said.

"Jato replied, "Good night Naruto."

Naruto made his way up to the room they had gotten and set up his sleeping futon. He laid down to go to sleep shortly afterwards. When he appeared to be asleep, Hinata whispered to Naruto, "It was nice getting to know you Naruto-kun. I'll always be by your side, even if you never acknowledge it. Good night Naruto-kun."

Hinata turned to the opposite side and tried to fal asleep. She was having difficulty doing this due to having her Byakugan active, but she refused to give up and disappoint her new sensei and Naruto. Meanwhile, Naruto, who was in fact still awake, thought to himself _"I wonder if she likes me...Probably not. But, at least she'll always be my friend, right?"_

Naruto finally fell asleep shortly afterwards. Jato, on the other hand, only came into the room about two hours later and finally settled into the comforting darkness of the night.

--------------------Third Day of Travel--------------------

It was yet another beautiful morning, albeit the temperature was oppressively muggy and hot, even at six o' clock in the morning. Jato was the first one up, as usual. He went to the lower level of the inn and picked out three trays of breakfast for him and his students. When he got back up to the room, Naruto was still asleep. Hinata, on the other hand, was still awake, like she had been all night due to (figuratively) not being able to close her eyes and lacking the ability to sleep with her eyes open.

Jato rolled his eyes at the scene of Naruto rapped up in a cocoon of both his own blankets and blankets he had evidently stolen from Hinata. Hinata was just sitting there, looking at Naruto with a mild blush on her cheeks causing Jato to roll his eyes yet again.

When Jato could stand no more of this scene, he picked up Naruto's canteen full of water and unscrewed the lid. After setting it against the wall in a standing position, he performed some hand seals and then quietly said, "Suiton: Nishokuzame."

One water shark shot directly into Naruto's face, while the other hit Hinata on the top of her bent head. This not only effectively woke up Naruto, snap Hinata out of her trance, but it also got several profanities to come out of Naruto. This then made Hinata blush and Jato shoot yet another water shark at him. Neither of them was hurt due to the low level of chakra Jato had used for the jutsu.

When Naruto finally dried off (Hinata did too obviously) and calmed down, Jato said, "Sorry. You were sound asleep, looking ridiculous, and an easy target. Now, eat breakfast and we'll talk about today's agenda."

Naruto shot him a dirty look before scarfing down breakfast, while Hinata walked over to the provided table and began to eat in a more civilized manner. Jato joined her as Naruto began to speak. "So what are we gonna' do today," Naruto asked.

Jato swallowed a bite of his breakfast and then said, "Today, we're going to do mostly travel. I'd like to reach our destination sooner rather than later."

Hinata finally spoke and tiredly said, "Where are we going sensei?"

"I thought you guys would have figured it out by now. Oh well. We're traveling toward the coast so we can eventually get to Kiri," Jato said.

Hinata asked, "Why are we going there, sensei?"

Jato replied, "To see a friend of mine. Plus I like colder weather. This temperature is just down right annoying. So, we're going to go full tilt today so we can hopefully reach the coast by tonight."

"You're not going to teach us any jutsu," Naruto whined.

For the third time that morning, Jato rolled his eyes. He turned to Naruto and said, "I never said that. However, today I'm going to teach you both a jutsu that should be fairly easy to practice on the road. So finish up and head out back to the circle." Jato disappeared in his usual way, seemingly being devoured by flames.

Naruto got dressed into his travel gear and then waited patiently for Hinata to do the same. When they were ready, Naruto opened the window and jumped down to meet Jato in the earthen circle. Hinata shortly followed and landed next to Naruto.

Jato began speaking, saying, "Today you two will be learning the Ikakujun Hyouka no Jutsu. You can use it to try to gauge the level of another ninja, or even a civilian. The lowest possible threat level is a one hundred thirty, which is generally the usual threat level of a young civilian child. The highest possible for a human to attain it a one, though it is possible for you to see a zero. If you meet a being with a treat level of zero, turn and run. A threat level of zero means that they are either a Kami incarnate, or one of the two Kings of the Underworld, neither of which would any human ever stand a chance against."

At this point, Naruto broke in and asked a question, "Sensei, who has a threat level of one if a Kami has zero?"

Jato replied, "Generally, civilians are at tops ranked one hundred, genin are about ninety-nine to seventy, chunnin are about sixty-nine to forty and jounin and A.N.B.U. are about thirty-nine to ten. And finally, answering your question, Kage are generally ten to seven, though there are some exceptional Kage who get up to about five. After that, its biju or jinchuuriki."

Jato let the information sink in for a moment before continuing. "Now, it works like this; around the person being viewed, an aura will appear according to the personality of the person. Different colors mean different things, but I want you to figure it out for yourself. Sometimes, the aura will take a shape, and in that case you need to be wary, because this signifies a great potential for power. A black number will appear next to them with a red number on top. The black number is how much of a threat they are now, while they red number is how much they could be if they used full power. Mind you, all of this is only visible to you and only visible while you maintain the jutsu. Got it," Jato asked.

Naruto, though he had indeed grown smarter over the years, was just a little bit confused. After explaining it several more times, Jato finally felt that Naruto understood it enough to teach them how to perform the jutsu. He showed them the five hand seals required and told them to tell him when they thought they had the hand seals down so they could get a move on. After somewhere between five to ten minutes, both Hinata and Naruto were confident they could perform it while traveling relatively quickly on the road today.

"Good let's get moving," Jato said before motioning for them to start running with him.

The three took off toward the coast. They traveled all day, only stopping their break neck pace for a short fifteen-minute break. During this time, Jato had to give Hinata a special drink to re energize her due to the lack of sleep and her body's lack of time to regenerate chakra (due to the weights and the active Byakugan). By nightfall, the trio had reached the coast line. The two apprentices were so tired, and they went to sleep without even noticing where they were. Fortunately, Jato was able to keep them up long enough to get some food in them.

_"I needa teach them how to meditate so they don't have to do this whole sleeping forever thing anymore. At least she's managed to keep her Byakugan active while she's sleeping. It'd be so annoying if we had to start over. I'm surprised neither of them checked anyone out with that jutsu I taught them," _Jato thought before falling into state of meditation.

-------------------------Jutsu---------------------------

Shitai Hatamata Reikon Heigou no Jutsu– Body and Soul Merge Technique (O.J.). Used to bind a human and another being together.

Tomoshibi no Tate – Shield of Light (O.J.). Used to handicap a doujutsu user as well as to hide the chakra circulatory system's vital points.

Nenshouhin Byakugan – Burning Sun Byakugan (O.J.).

Kage Bunshin Bakuha - Exploding Shadow Clone.

Chakra no Tate - Chakra Shield.

Chakra Kyuuin no Jutsu - Chakra Drain Technique, a technique that allows the user to sap chakra from an opponent's body.

Suiton: Nishokuzame - Water Style: Two Sharks Eating. A suiton jutsu that lets the user shoot two shark shaped water projectiles from their finger tips (one for each finger).

Ikakujun Hyouka no Jutsu - Threat Level Assessment Technique(O.J.). Used to help the user gauge an opposition's skill level.

----------------Author's Notes-----------------------

So, made a bunch of new jutsu here, and grew the whole Hina - Naruto relationship. Amazing what being snowed in will do for one's story development. Not only that, I took the time to make a whole gallery of Hinata pictures on photobucket (if you'd like to go see, the link's in my profile). Yes, I know, extremely nerdy. But besides writing this I really didn't have anything better to do (at least things I wanted to do). So, thanks for readin' and I hope you enjoyed. As always, please read and review, because your opinion matters and very well may change the story line a bit.

Mouldy


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